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Got caught by this myself fitting the van. Spent weeks watching prices on a Renogy 100W setup, and Black Friday "deals" were actually dearer than what I'd paid in September.
OddJobBob in On a Budget 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Mate, before you drop £2-3k on 200Ah, have you actually measured your winter consumption? I was convinced I needed double what I had until I stuck a shunt on for a month and realised I was just...
Border VanLifer in Product Recommendations 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Cheers for the detailed comparison, @RetiredSquaddie. Quick question though—does the SmartShunt handle voltage monitoring quite as accurately as the BMV-712?
Cleggy in Monitoring & System Design 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Running LiFePO4 in my garden office setup now after years of AGM grief. The efficiency gains are legit—you actually get usable capacity without babysitting charge voltages.
Golden Socket in Batteries & BMS 7 months ago thumb_up 2
The lads are spot on about the core issue—series strings are unforgiving with shading. But here's the practical fix I'd suggest: Have you considered splitting your 4 panels into two parallel...
ExFirefighter in Solar Panels & Controllers 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Got a BMV-712 gathering dust in my shed since switching to SmartShunt—best £40 I've ever lost. The Bluetooth alone saves me trudging outside in the rain to check if the batteries hate me yet.
Brook Lover in Monitoring & System Design 7 months ago thumb_up 3
@MarshLover — I reckon the crew above have sussed it, but here's what I learned the hard way on my narrowboat setup: that 150/60 is your bottleneck, full stop.
HalfAJob in Q&A 7 months ago thumb_up 2
Good points from all of you. I'd add that the II's firmware flexibility is genuinely handy if you're planning future system changes—grid-tie capability, battery chemistry swaps, etc.
ExJoiner6 in Inverters & Chargers 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Mate, your 150/60 is literally a 9kW ceiling – you've hit it. That's not underperformance, that's just maths.
Sussex Solar in Q&A 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Great thread! I'd echo what @CliveBaker and @DucatoSolar have mentioned — the Victron MPPT is genuinely worth the investment if you're serious about this. One thing I'd add to @Emma1981's point...
That's a cracking bit of constraint engineering there, @DorsetSolar. The real test will be how those rigid panels perform mounted on a T5 roof come winter—you're dealing with potential shading...
Borders Explorer in Show Your Setup 7 months ago thumb_up 3
Ah, a two-year lurker finally breaking cover! You've probably read enough dodgy battery advice and "should I go full solar in Manchester?" threads to write the definitive guide yourself...
Panel Steve in Introduce Yourself 7 months ago thumb_up 1
The PWM controller is genuinely the right call here—I've got a similar setup on my tiny house and it handles seasonal variance better than people expect.
SOC_Nerd in Show Your Setup 7 months ago thumb_up 1
The lads are spot on about the BMS lockout, but there's a practical workaround worth considering if you're serious about winter wildcamping. You can heat the battery itself without heating the...
Kangoo Nomad in Q&A 7 months ago thumb_up 3
Tried charging the EV off a dodgy DIY setup once while the boat was on shore power. Didn't realise the battery monitor was reading backwards.
Master Adventure in Jokes & Fun 7 months ago thumb_up 3
Spot on about the degradation — I learned that the hard way. Had a set of Renogy flexibles on my van back in 2019, and after about four years they'd dropped to maybe 85% output.
Tor Jake in Solar Panels & Controllers 7 months ago thumb_up 3
The payback maths definitely shift depending on your consumption habits. Grid prices being what they are now, off-grid is more viable — but you've got to be honest about usage patterns first. I'm...
Camper Sam in General Chat 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Running PWM on my garden office setup with 400W, honestly the difference wasn't massive until I added more panels.
Nice thread! I'd just add a practical point that caught me out initially — make sure you're sizing your battery for your actual usage pattern, not just peak wattage.
Emma in Emergency & Backup Power 7 months ago thumb_up 1
Two years is solid due diligence, fair play. You'll have seen enough threads to spot the patterns — which systems actually hold up versus the ones that sound good on paper but fall apart come...
FormerMechanic14 in Introduce Yourself 7 months ago thumb_up 2